The Upper East Regional Minister, Mr. Mark Woyongo, has appealed to student unions in the region to be ambassadors of peace by preaching peace messages in their communities especially conflict prone areas.
He said this when he addressed the Navrongo Chapter of the Upper East Students Union, at Navrongo at a meeting to welcome new students who had gained admission into the University for Development Studies.
Mr Woyongo said the youth were more engaged in most of the conflicts in the region especially that of Bawku and appealed to them to desist from such acts.
He expressed regret that instead of the people in the region fighting to address the endemic poverty in the area, they were rather engaged in violence which continued to draw the development of the area backwards.
"In the midst of this poverty why should people take up arms for conflicts instead of hoes and plough for cultivation of food?" he asked.
The Principal of Saint John Bosco Training College in Navrongo, Mr. Alfred Ndego, blamed conflicts in some parts of the region to colonial authorities who made it difficult for the northern regions to acquire education.
Mr. Ndego said changes in the governance system of the indigenous people by the colonial authority were another cause of conflicts in the area and that in the past the Tidanas (custodian of the land) were ruling the people and were respected.
He mentioned chieftaincy and land issues as some of the causes of conflict in the area and appealed to politicians not to get involved in such cases.
Mr Ndego stressed the need for the government to ensure equity and balance in development projects in the country with special consideration for deprived areas including the three northern regions.
The President of the Students Union in charge of the UDS Chapter, Mr. Sumaila Issifu Edward, said the union had been educating their members on development issues and appealed to the government to provide adequate infrastructure to enhance academic work in the university.